﻿Review of Asset: Episode 3﻿

March 1, 2014

Episode 3 starts off right where we left off with Eric agreeing to join Julia and the CIA. The next point is Eric going right back into that house with Nadja and Valentin. This episode focuses the most on Eric and how he’s fitting into new role. It’s clear from the first scene that he’s out of his element. Men, learn how to tie a tie please. But really, the audience should’ve been tipped off from Episode 1, where Eric failed to clue into Julia’s horribly fake accent. [Click here for the review of Episodes 1 and 2.]

A lot is covered in this short episode: the no-gadget rule, the dynamic between Nadja and Eric, and Eric’s first fight. Now the no-gadget rule means that we’re not James Bond, fantasy espionage land. This universe seems to deal with the more realistic, meaning that we’re dealing more with a The Bourne Identity (2002) kind of scenario. Of course Eric is neither James Bond nor Jason Bourne. This of course leads into my third point. The first fight scene of the series certainly doesn’t disappoint, but Eric gets his ass kicked. It’s surprising that he doesn’t get killed off right here, with little comedic moments reminiscent of most spy fight scenes. Spy mistake number one: Don’t use fight moves you learned from TV. This whole scene is actually taken right from Asset’s IPF Pitch Trailer, a neat moment for those who’ve seen it. Going back the dynamic between Eric and Nadja, it’s certainly an interesting relationship. The story here is that Eric dated Nadja in high school, while she was a Russian exchange student in Canada. Now clearly she had a profound impact on Eric’s life, because he’s still totally in love with her. Spy mistake number two: Don’t let your personal feelings rule your decision making. Especially if it means using cheesy lines from TV and thinking someone will take you seriously. Nothing like clichés to remind you that Eric is a civilian. Comedic and perfect. Speaking of comedic, there’s one more thing that stuck out to me. Anya, Valentine’s right hand, wears a big furry hat later in the episode. Anya still holds that intimidating presence, but it certainly gave me a chuckle. That hat will probably fuel a hardcore fanbase for Anya, like Jayne’s hat in Firefly (2002).